Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday while attending the ASEAN foreign ministers' summit in the Philippines. According to an official statement from the Russian foreign ministry, Lavrov cautioned Washington against the continued provision of weaponry to Kyiv, explicitly describing such actions as “unacceptable.”
During their discussion, Lavrov provided an update on the current status of the front line to his American counterpart. Beyond the conflict in Ukraine, the two officials also addressed geopolitical tensions in the Persian Gulf, where the United States remains involved in an ongoing standoff with Iran. Despite the firm stance on military aid, the Russian ministry noted that Moscow remains open to a “political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict.”
The diplomatic exchange occurs as the conflict intensifies. US President Donald Trump has recently expressed support for Ukraine’s strategy of utilizing long-range strikes against Russian energy infrastructure. During a NATO summit in Ankara earlier this month, Trump described the strategy as an escalation that could potentially help bring the conflict to an end.
The human cost of these hostilities has been significant, with Russian authorities reporting four deaths overnight across Russia and occupied territories. Sergey Aksyonov, the leader of Russian-occupied Crimea, confirmed that strikes on the region resulted in two deaths and five injuries. In the Voronezh region, Governor Alexander Gusev reported that a three-year-old boy was killed when a drone crash ignited a fire in a residential home. Additionally, acting governor of the Belgorod region, Alexander Shuvaev, confirmed one fatality following an attack on the Shebekinsky district.
In response to these developments, Ukraine’s air force reported that Russian forces launched a major aerial assault overnight, consisting of a ballistic missile, five cruise missiles, and 168 attack drones. Ukrainian officials stated that their air defense units successfully neutralized 154 of the drones and two Kh-59/69 cruise missiles.
